Accused Rapist Wants Some Of That Myspace Money, Too

from the myspace-made-me-do-it dept

Earlier this week, a 14-year-old girl and her mother sued Myspace for $30 million, alleging the site failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old guy. Now, in a bizarre twist, the man's attorney says that if Myspace is liable for not keeping the girl out of harm's way, his client might also have a claim for damages, since the girl misrepresented her age, adding that the accused rapist, who's admitted having sex with the girl, is "just as much a victim -- if not more." This case, should it be filed, would be even more spurious than the girl's claim -- the fact that the two met on MySpace has absolutely nothing to do with the alleged sexual assault, and the guy really doesn't have much of a case if he's basing his on the girl lying about her age, since he apparently falsely represented himself as a high school football player. It's impossible to describe these suits as anything other than ridiculous, but with all the hype of the dangers of Myspace and other social-networking sites -- and the money flowing around -- inevitably, there will be more.